Estes Park News

Estes Park flood relief meeting Monday

Monday meeting for businesses about new grants and loans for economic flood relief

By Jon Nicholas, President/CEO Estes Park EDC

Special to the Trail-Gazette

Posted:
04/03/2014 12:40:27 PM MDT

Estes Park's business recovery continues from the September 2013 floods, with many affected businesses and non-profit organizations still feeling economic impacts. Businesses that suffered a substantial, verifiable economic loss due to the flood will want to attend an information session Monday April 7, on flood recovery grants and loans. The program can provide up to $10,000 grants plus up to $50,000 loans to assist flood-affected businesses.

The meeting at 10 a.m. will be held at the town hall board room in the Town of Estes Park municipal building. It will be hosted by the Colorado Small Business Development Center (Colorado EBDC) and Colorado Office of Economic Development and International Trade (OEDIT). No reservations are required.

Many businesses in the Estes Park area that were not physically damaged suffered economic losses due to the sharp reduction in tourism caused by the closures of major highways to Estes Park and the region; those businesses may qualify for assistance, the SBDC office said. The assistance will be provided as part of the statewide Recover Colorado Business Grant and Loan program, to be funded through the federal Community Development Block Grants-Disaster Recovery (CDBG-DR) program. The Colorado program is expected to receive federal approval shortly.

According to a flyer about the meeting, the application for flood recovery grants will be available in the next few weeks. The presentation will provide information on how to apply, what the rules are and what the benefits are.

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There are steps businesses can take now to begin preparing their applications, which will be fulfilled on a first-come first served basis. Under the pending plan for this business assistance program, businesses will be required to have their applications reviewed and approved by a Colorado SBDC consultant prior to submittal. Such reviews will speed the approval process by ensuring applications are complete. Businesses are encouraged go to to larimerSBDC.org and registering for free counseling on the Larimer SBDC website. The Estes Park Economic Development Corporation (Estes Park EDC) and local SBDC volunteers will be partnering with Larimer SBDC to provide face-to-face local assistance to businesses applying under this program.

The deadline to file applications for SBA loans for economic injury from the flood is June 16. Filing an SBA loan application (whether granted or denied) is one way of demonstrating economic need.